Hillary warns Iran headed for military dictatorship

DOHA (AFP) - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned on Monday that Iran is headed towards military dictatorship posing a threat to all, but said she was hopeful of serious new Middle East peace talks. On a Gulf tour aimed at drumming up international support for tough new UN sanctions against Iran, Clinton said that the whole region had reason to fear Irans nuclear programme and the growing influence of the elite Revolutionary Guard. The US chief diplomat told students in Qatar that the United States was not seeking to use military action against Iran to curb its nuclear ambitions but rather seeking to use international pressure through the UN Security Council. Such pressure will be particularly aimed at those enterprises controlled by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, which we believe is in effect supplanting the government of Iran, Clinton said. We see the government of Iran, the supreme leader, the president, the parliament is being supplanted and Iran is moving toward a military dictatorship, Clinton told students at the Qatari branch of Carnegie-Mellon University. In a speech in Doha on Sunday night to the US-Islamic World Forum, Clinton said: I fear the rise of the influence and power of the Revolutionary Guard... poses a very direct threat to everyone. Were still hoping that Iran will decide to forego any nuclear ambitions or nuclear weapon and respect its own people, she told a conference in Qatar, which lies across the Gulf from Iran. We cannot keep hoping for that. She told students that her talks with leaders in the region revealed great concern about Iran and its intentions. I think people have reason to worry. The question is what can Iran do to allay the fears of its neighbours. And yet I dont see much progress there. We would expect them (the Saudis) to use these visits, to use their relationship in ways that can help increase the pressure that Iran feels, said Feltman, the assistant secretary of state for Near East Affairs. The Middle East peace process was also expected to loom large in Clintons talks in Saudi Arabia. The peace process is the main issue, of course, said Saudi foreign ministry spokesman Osama Nugali. Our position is still the same... that we need to revive the peace process. Meanwhile, Iran said on Monday it was considering a new proposal from the major powers for the supply of nuclear fuel but France and Russia denied any such offer had been made. The head of Irans atomic energy organisation, Ali Akbar Salehi, told domestic news agencies the new proposal had come in response to Irans move last week to begin enriching uranium itself to the 20 percent level required for a Tehran medical research rector after rejecting a previous offer. After the decision by Iran to produce its own uranium enriched to 20 percent, France, Russia and the Uni-ted States presented a new proposal which we are in the process of considering, ILNA news agency quoted Salehi as saying. I am not going to unveil the contents of this proposal, he told Fars news agency. France, which was to have provided the fuel for the Tehran reactor under the original deal using enriched uranium provided by Russia, denied any new proposal was on the table. The foreign ministry in Moscow joined in the denial, Russias Interfax news agency reported. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton held long talks with Saudi leaders on Monday aiming to rally support for tough new UN sanctions against Iran. Clinton and King Abdullah met for talks and a sumptuous lunch with tables overflowing with food, at Rawdat Khurayim, the monarchs desert camp 60 miles northeast of Riyadh, in a tent-topped air conditioned building. No details immediately emerged as subsequent private talks ran over two-and-a-half hours. The chief US diplomat first went straight into talks with her Saudi counterpart Prince Saud al-Faisal at Riyadh airport before heading to the desert camp.